Ball State University
Detroit Mercy
Men's Tennis Defeat Detroit 6-1 In 2015 Opener
January 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State men's tennis team (1-0) earned a 6-1 victory over Detroit Mercy (1-1) Saturday afternoon at the Muncie YMCA Tennis Center. It was the second-straight season the Cardinals have defeated the Titans in their season opener.
"This was a good start," Ball State head men's tennis coach said. "I have a lot of respect for Detroit. They are a greatly improved team that took western Michigan to the wire Thursday in a 4-3 loss. They forced us into some tough situations that we were able to work through. There were more positives than negatives."
Patrick Elliott and Lucas Andersen started the match with a 6-3 win over UDM's twosome Nathan Ponton and Patryk Kadyrov at the top position. At No. 2 doubles, Ray Leonard and Andrew Stutz would clinch the point for the Cardinals after posting a 6-2 victory over Jay Joshi and Rafael Orantes.
The Cardinals won five of their six singles matches. Newcomer Collin Rigney gave Ball State the 2-0 edge after taking down Chance Conley in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 6 singles position. Patrick Downs and Andersen took down their competition in straight sets in their respective positions to clinch the match for Ball State. Jan Jirus dropped his match to Ponton at the No. 4 slot in his Ball State debut. Leonard and Elliott rounded out the last two points for the Cardinals.
The Ball State men's tennis team continues spring action when it plays two matches Friday, Jan. 23 in Champaign, Ill. The Cardinals will take on Wisconsin-Green Bay at 10:00 a.m. and will close the day with a match against Big Ten foe Illinois at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
